How to Add Moulding to Stock Bookcases

Upgrade the look of bookshelves with moulding.

If you have a plain old stock bookcases that fade into the room because they're nondescript, it's an easy project to dress them out. All you need is a little crown moulding around the top of the bookcase, to give it some depth and tie it into the rest of the room. Traditional crown moulding, which is flat and has to be installed at a slant, can be complicated to cut, so use solid moulding with three sides, which can be positioned in the same way as crown molding but is easier to install.

Things You'll Need

• Tape measure
• Pencil
• Three-sided crown molding
• Miter saw
• Small trim nailer

Instructions

1. Measure the horizontal top span of the bookcase. Transfer that measurement to a piece of moulding at the side that will attach to the face of the bookcase.

2. Hold the moulding on the platform of your miter saw, with one mark under the blade. Hold the moulding against the back rail of the saw, in exactly the way it will go on the front surface of the bookcase.

3. Swivel the blade to point 45 degrees outward, away from the piece. Make the cut.

4. Slide the moulding so the other mark is under the blade. Turn the blade to 45 degrees in the opposite direction as before (which will again be pointing away from the trim). Make the cut.

5. Hold the trim against the face of the bookcase, along the top, so the front of it angles up and outward from the face, and the two mitered sides are longer in front than in back, making a point off the corners and then angling back in to the surface. Secure the piece by shooting trim nails every six to eight inches along the trim.

6. Cut the two side pieces of moulding in the same manner, except instead of mitering both ends, miter only the end that will form the corners with the front piece. Cut the others ends of the sides pieces straight across.

7. Nail the side pieces in place as before, so the three pieces cover the top perimeter of the bookcase and form two corners jutting out at the sides.

References

• Ask the Builder video: Crown Molding For Cabinets.